PO Box 610605
Dallas,TX 75261
Dallas,TX 75261
With companies in the security technology industry seeking ways to boost their workforce development efforts, the Foundation for Advancing Security Talent (FAST) is committed to providing resources companies can leverage while growing the talent pool by promoting the industry to the public and job seekers as a challenging and fulfilling place to have a career.
FAST Working Groups – Unite, Innovate, and Advance the Security Industry
Are you an industry expert or a budding professional with fresh ideas? FAST presents an exciting platform for you to make a tangible difference in the security industry. With the mission of connecting talent with careers in the security industry, FAST has a huge opportunity to make an impact on the challenges our industry faces. Dive into our working groups and be a part of the change!
FAST Working Groups Interest Form
Why Join a FAST Working Group?
- Specialized Involvement: Directly address and collaborate on the industry’s pressing workforce challenges by bringing your unique expertise to the table.
- Professional Growth: Build and expand your leadership skills. Who knows? You might be a future candidate for the FAST Board of Directors.
- Networking: Connect with industry professionals, creating lasting relationships and expanding your industry footprint.
- Be an Industry Influencer: Help FAST grow and direct its future, shaping the trajectory of the workforce of the security industry.
FAST Working Groups:
- Research
Focus Areas: Survey development, data analysis, job board, workforce trends.
Mission: Guide the FAST board on pivotal research areas, ensuring that industry workforce data needs are met effectively. As the 2023 Wage and Compensation Study wraps up, it’s time to dive into novel research sectors that bolster industry growth.
- Awards
Focus Areas: Industry recognition, scholarships, awareness, award impact.
Mission: Elevate and celebrate industry talent! With the Security Technician of the Year Awards’ ceremony at ISC East and National Security Technician Day (January 23rd) coming up, we aim to expand our recognition programs. Let’s innovate and appreciate!
- Development
Focus Areas: Fundraising, partnership forging, event facilitation.
Mission: Fuel FAST’s philanthropic endeavors! Being a non-profit, we thrive on our generous contributors. Let’s brainstorm innovative fundraising strategies, identify potential collaborators, and optimize FAST’s presence at industry events.
- Engagement
Focus Areas: Career mapping, audience pinpointing, education outreach, content calibration.
Mission: Align, develop, and deliver! FAST has a wealth of content and resources to develop much more. You will advise the FAST board on prioritization of content development and assist in the development of said content. This group will also help align the content with its target audience, such as educators, students, or the security industry.
Working groups are scheduled to run through the end of 2024, and will have their first meeting in December, 2023. Working group membership is voluntary and at the discretion of the chair.
Research
FAST’s research will provide companies with information about the security industry labor market that they can use to inform their workforce development strategies. In addition to identifying industry-wide labor acquisition needs and challenges, FAST will develop relevant benchmarks for use by human resources departments.
Education
While recruiting new talent is critical, companies must also ensure that their current employees stay up to date with the latest technologies in this rapidly evolving industry. FAST will provide education and training resources that firms can use to onboard new employees and introduce them to the industry and to train current workers on emerging technologies. The result will be a more informed and effective workforce not only within a given company, but across the industry.
Promotion
Security, unlike, say, consumer electronics, has not typically been a career field that most people associate with high technology or that technology reporters cover extensively. FAST is setting out to change that by reintroducing the public and the media to a sector that is leveraging leading-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and algorithm-based analytics to produce exciting solutions that serve a purpose – protecting people and property.
Jobs Board
The FAST jobs board serves as the industry’s leading site for connecting security employers and job seekers. To help companies recover from pandemic-induced economic hardship, FAST will, through August 2021, offer members of the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA) the ability to post jobs on the board at no charge. Your membership with either of these organizations will allow you to access your ESA member discount or your SIA member discount.
But FAST cannot do all this alone. The foundation is looking to partner with as many companies as possible to advance the security industry. If you would like to get involved in FAST activities, please contact FAST@advancingsecurity.org, and if you are interested in supporting the foundation financially, please visit the Donate page.
